


Cooperation (a Hunnigan's DSO file)

by musetraxed (muselives)



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23156995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muselives/pseuds/musetraxed
Summary: Director Ingrid Hunnigan meets with BSAA Captain Chris Redfield to discuss the possibility of DSO liaison joining his team.
Kudos: 5
Collections: Hunnigan's DSO





	Cooperation (a Hunnigan's DSO file)

**Author's Note:**

> With thanks to 150+ hits across this Hunnigan's DSO AU of mine, especially to those readers who left kudos. Special thanks to Callust.
> 
> Set post- _RE6_ , prior to [Safe for Christmas](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22822288). Additional details in the collection profile. Story edited only by myself, all mistakes my own.

_I believe this meeting was an important step in breaking down the barrier between the U.S. government and the BSAA._

Ingrid Hunnigan ran her thumb along that line of her report summary and almost smiled. Well, she had been wrong. It wasn’t the first or the last time, but rereading her words in advance of this meeting did make her sound very Pollyanna.

She wondered what Adam had thought of this optimistic take on the first face-to-face meeting of Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield almost four years ago. If he had told her, it was lost from memory now, replaced by other more pressing concerns. Despite a friendly acquaintance with Captain Redfield’s younger sister Claire, Ingrid hadn’t managed to garner a better connection between the BSAA and the DSO. Now, with Adam’s death and the conflicts the two men had gone through in Lanshiang, she was motivated to try again.

It wasn’t hard to spot Captain Redfield when he appeared in the front office area. He might be in civilian clothing but the man was an anti-bioterrorism legend, not to mention how he carried himself and that he wasn’t exactly a diminutive guy. Her personal administrator jumped up from her desk and met him part way among the other analysts, walking him over to the office. Ingrid made herself wait until he was crossing through the door to stand up. “Captain Redfield, ma’am,” the staffer said, closing the door behind him as he walked in.

Chris cast a glance over his shoulder, noting the closed door and the glass wall behind him while she made her way around the desk. He turned back with a smile and held out his hand. “Director Hunnigan.”

“Captain.” She was pleased that he gave her hand a firm shake.

“Please, call me Chris.” He stepped over towards the chairs but remained standing until she had taken her seat. When he did sit down, he gave her another smile but with a slightly thoughtful look. “You know, Claire reminded me that we had met once, about four years ago, when she was introducing me to Leon.”

“That’s right. I didn’t want to assume you’d remember me but I was there to take notes at President Benford’s request.”

His smile fell away and he gave a solemn nod. “I understand he was a friend. I’m sorry.”

Ingrid had to look down quickly at her files to keep from blinking at him in surprise. She did talk with Claire now and again, especially because they both shared concerns about Leon, but while they had both wondered how Agent Kennedy was handling Adam’s death, Claire hadn’t pushed about her own reaction, her own grief at the loss.

She wasn’t as settled as she wanted to be when she looked back up again. Even though Chris Redfield had a commanding presence, she didn’t feel like he was trying to get an upper hand by bringing up those personal connections; there seemed to be genuine empathy in his eyes.

Of course she knew what had happened to his team. She had managed to get BSAA confirmation that Piers Nivans who had accompanied Captain Redfield in Lanshaing had been lost in action after the attack.

Ingrid had planned meticulously for this meeting. The list of reasons she was prepared to give him with her request included some personal ones, not all of equal rank. She knew that might make this conversation more difficult but she hadn’t expected to lose her nerve so quickly, just over a little compassion and decency.

“Thank you.” It felt a little forced and she wondered how long it had taken her to say it but she took a deep breath and pushed forward. “Captain-- Chris. I’m sure you know that before I took this promotion, I was an analyst with FOS.”

“Not just an analyst. _The_ analyst, from everything I’ve heard.” The smile was slowly coming back. “I read up on you too, Director. I know that you and President Benford and Leon Kennedy basically built the DSO.”

She wouldn’t let Leon’s name rattle her further, no matter her shaky start. “Then you know that for the entire life of this agency, I’ve pushed for better inter-agency cooperation. I’ve tried to build bridges with other federal agencies and with the BSAA. The longer we fight against bioterrorism, the more necessary that cooperation becomes.”

“We’ve been cooperative.”

“I’m not talking about reactive, last-minute intelligence sharing. I’m talking about seriously reviewing how we classify our on-going operations, better channels between our agencies, and more regular touchbases.”

He tilted his head slightly to one side. “That’s nice but I would think that’s a conversation better had with my director.”

“It’s a conversation we’ve already had. The reason I asked you to come here today is because I _also_ asked the director if I could have a DSO liaison with the BSAA. Specifically with your team.”

This was the first bump that Ingrid had expected and honestly, when they hit it, the impact wasn’t as bad as she expected. Chris did stop and frown but he didn’t immediately shut her down, get angry and start shouting, or laugh in her face. Even with a few months under her belt now as director of a federal agency, Ingrid was always aware of her age and, of course, being a woman who had come up through the technical ranks instead of field service. She’d encountered all of those types of reactions to her requests and learned not to blink at any of them.

He did look like he didn’t like the idea which was why the pause in conversation wasn’t completely unexpected. But he had been polite, even warm and complimentary, since coming into her office. He seemed to at least be doing her the courtesy of considering her seriously.

Finally, he decided to ask, “Is there any reason why you’re requesting your agent be placed with my team?”

“There are several but if you’ll permit me to start with the most obvious: you’re the only Raccoon City survivor in either of our agencies who actually leads a team.”

A soft huff that was probably laughter escaped him when she said that. “And you’re not going to reorganize your agency to do that?” he pushed back.

“We’re actually looking more seriously at the BSAA model as we restructure the DSO,” Ingrid admitted. “Having unit branches for crisis response, and agent teams for intelligence gathering and other less urgent missions.”

Chris tilted his head. “You are really serious about this.”

“About reforming the DSO? Yes.”

“No,” he edged in, his voice gentle but firm as if he recognized that she was ready to go off on another expository tear. It was polite enough as far as interruptions went and she didn’t glare him down. “I mean about sending a liaison. About wanting your agent to learn the ropes with me.”

Ingrid frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be serious about that?”

“You’ve got Leon.”

“And I have a new agent partnered with him, learning the ropes, as you said.”

His eyebrows jumped. “I hadn’t heard about that.”

“Through which grapevine?” Ingrid heard herself ask before she could think the better of it.

Luckily, that comeback just made him grin. “Any of them. I’m going to call Claire out for slacking though.”

“It was still being hammered out when she and I last talked.” Most of said hammering being a matter of Ingrid making sure that Helena Harper was cleared of all charges relating to Derek Simmons’ treasonous actions that had led to Adam’s death. She had been unsure how much Leon would push back on accepting a partner but, in a pleasant surprise, he had agreed without much argument. They were out on a field mission together now.

Chris considered this, one hand idly coming up to rub his jaw. “So Leon’s got a shadow now.”

“He has a partner, yes,” Ingrid said firmly.

Both his hands lifted up slightly in the usual gesture of surrender. The effect was rather undercut by the fact that he was still smiling though. “But that’s why you don’t want this agent to train under him.”

“It wouldn’t have been possible anyway.” This was the next possible bump in the road and Ingrid braced herself for it accordingly. “They have too much personal history for a permanent shared assignment.”

Again, that curious, cautious look came back to the older man’s face. “Who’s the agent?”

 _No way out but through._ Ingrid let out half her breath first. “Sherry Birkin.”

Unsurprisingly, Chris jumped forward in his seat. “ _Sherry?_ ”

“I understand you worked with her in Lanshiang,” Ingrid forged ahead.

“Yeah, because she was working a protective custody detail. Claire told me Sherry was only even a federal agent because she’d had some arrangement with Simmons.”

“While that may have been how things started, with Simmons dead, a full investigation of the guardianship was complete and determined to be unnecessary at this point.” If her voice was exceptionally cold at the short summation of Simmon’s state, Chris didn’t react to it. She continued on, “I asked Sherry if she wanted to continue being a DSO agent after the hearings and she said yes.”

“After what she’s been through? Just this year, nevermind Raccoon City!”

Now Ingrid fixed him with one of her unyielding stares. “Captain Redfield, I just said that Sherry went through the process to have the courts recognize what you and I already know full well: she’s an adult. She’s a strong, capable young woman who’s made the same choice that you have to protect the world from bioterrorism. And I think she’s an exceptional candidate who could learn a lot from a veteran of this fight, like yourself.”

“Flattery isn’t going to get me to glaze over the fact that you’re asking me to take responsibility for one of the people that my sister holds dearest on this earth,” Chris shot back.

“Why do you think I want her to be with you? You care, but you’ll have some objective distance. And it’s not flattery, it’s a point of fact that there are few other people who have been on the frontlines of this fight as long as you have.”

Now Chris fell silently into his thoughts. She waited another moment before continuing on. “I also think that you’ll be sensitive to some of the experiences she’s had in a way that many agents won’t.”

He looked up again, his brow furrowed. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that Sherry was the subject of on-going experimentation for years. She was a captive of Neo-Umbrella for six months. And I think--” Here she softened her voice slightly, not sure how this final bump might go. “I think that part of the reason you jumped up to protect her is because you know what those experiences can do to a person. Because of Jill Valentine.”

For the first time since Captain Chris Redfield had walked up to her office, Ingrid actually felt a sense of menace rolling off the man in waves. It didn’t surprise her and she refused to fold to it even though some small part of her did respond the way he must have expected when he shot her that dark look.

But she had been in this fight more than a decade herself. She knew about stubborn, loyal, driven agents. And ultimately, she found that even beyond his reputation, she had a lot of respect for the man sitting in front of her right now. So she didn’t flinch and the brief sensation of fear subsided. She held her head up and continued to look him in the eye.

He didn’t say anything for a long time. Eventually though, he moved back in his seat, letting his arms rest on the chair, hands folded in his lap. Ingrid let herself breathe again. She even managed it a few times before he spoke. “Is there anything else I should know about why you’re asking for this arrangement?”

“Yes.” More than one thing but she wanted to start from the most important first. “The DSO has reason to believe that the new vice president has ties with the fraternity that Derek Simmons’ called the Family. While that is a national security concern, since it’s not exclusively a bioterrorism matter, it has been turned over to a joint task force with the FBI.”

His expression didn’t change and his words further confirmed his lack of surprise. “My director did brief me on that possibility.”

“Then you also know that Simmons was Sherry’s supervisor while she was with the NSA.”

“Are you warning me that she’s going to have a chip on her shoulder?”

For the second time today, Ingrid felt her mouth twitch with the beginnings of a smile. “No. It came up in her hearings and again during other internal investigations. All of the DSO’s concerns were addressed. Personally and professionally, I just don’t think Agent Birkin is the type.”

Another look of surprise flashed over Chris’ features. He brought his hand up to rub his chin as he considered this, considered _her_. Ingrid was certain he hadn’t missed her smile even though it was gone as soon as she started speaking. She wondered if Captain Redfield was observant enough to guess at the reason for her apparent amusement.

If he did guess, he didn’t lead with it. What he said instead was, “We’re not the intelligence gathering arm of the BSAA, Director.”

“And I’m not spying on your team, Captain,” she volleyed back. “As I’ve said, the DSO doesn’t currently divide those responsibilities for our field agents. Sherry Birkin is a capable investigator. I want her to work on her combat and crisis response skills.”

She gave an intentional pause as she met his gaze. “I don’t need to install a liaison in the BSAA as some kind of back channel for intel. Your director and I have already worked out a much better understanding than our predecessors. And I’m not installing Sherry to get around the US task force. If the Family is still messing with bio-organic weapons, it’ll be to all of our interests to take their operations down together.”

The hand that had been passing along the edge of his jaw briefly covered his mouth. When he dropped it, he looked like he was fighting a smile. “See, I didn’t even consider that. No wonder you’re running this place.”

Before she could get flustered, he held up a hand. Before she could get angry, his expression changed back to a more serious look. “Director Hunnigan, I can tell that you’ve given this a lot of thought. I can even see why this would be beneficial to both our organizations. But I don’t take anyone on my team that I haven’t interviewed for myself.”

“That _is_ why I asked if we could discussed this in person, Captain. I know your director is onboard if you give your approval. It’s just a matter of your reviewing the candidate.”

At that, Chris nodded and looked off, turning over his own thoughts. Ingrid took the opportunity to close up her files and move them off to the corner of her desk. She’d made her pitch and there wasn’t anyone else on her list. If he didn’t want to work with a liaison or if he had some objection specifically to taking on Sherry Birkin, she’d go back to the drawing board with her plans.

By the time she had set the file aside, he had at least given it enough thought to say, “I’ll talk to her about it.”

Ingrid covered her relief with a short nod. “Is this going to be a formal or informal interview?”

“Informal,” he answered in a wry, amused tone, pushing himself up from the chair to his feet.

She stood up as well and came around the desk. Before she could offer her hand for another shake, his hands went to his hips. Not for the first time she was grateful for the heels that made it easier to look up at him.

His expression as he was looking at her was just thoughtful, not threatening. “I can’t believe you used Jill on me,” he said at last.

Now, with her argument defended, after planning for everything else, Ingrid blushed. “She suggested it.”

Realization flashed over his face, followed by a kind of resigned amusement. “I’ll talk to Sherry,” Chris reiterated, straightening up and then offering her his hand. They shook and then she lead him over to the door. “I’ll be seeing you around, Director.”

She opened it and gave him a small smile. “I look forward to it, Chris.”

He looked surprised to see it but then he smiled back, giving her one more nod before heading out.


End file.
